Faceting Made easy
By Trevor Hannam
Learn How to
Cut Gemstones
Faceting Down Under
The Beginners Guide
On
Faceting Gemstones
Copyright © 2000 Trevor G. Hannam
4th edition
All rights reserved - No part of this book or associated DVD
May be reproduced in any form, without the written permission from the author.
Trevor G. Hannam, 1 Glenwood Close., Atherton, QLD 4883
PH: 4091 1966
Should you require a copy of the book or the DVD
please contact the following:
Trevor G. Hannam, 1 Glenwood Close., Atherton, QLD 4883
PH: 4091 1966
Pages that are damaged through some mishap can be
re-supplied @ $3.00 per page
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 2
H
INTRODUCTION
ave you ever read a book filled with so much technical jargon that it leaves you
more confused than when you started! I think we have all fallen into this category one time or another.
It is for this reason that this book has been written. I myself found learning from such a
book, if not properly illustrated or explained in everyday terms can be very frustrating and
discouraging. Unless you can get an instructor to help you, most beginners will just give it
up.
This book and associated DVD (if purchased) contains detailed instructions and illustrations
in concise patterns on cutting the Standard Brilliant, and gives the individual a working
knowledge of all parts of the Faceting Machine.
Books and teachers of faceting often vary in their technique and most still advocate cutting
the table first. Times change, and new ways are found to cutting the Standard Brilliant.
This book just presents faceting another way, starting with the pavilion and as you read
and learn, you will see the wisdom of this technique.
There is no hard and fast rule in faceting, just the basics and beginners are encouraged to
experiment once they have mastered the Standard Brilliant.
I feel this book has presented gem faceting in such a way that any average person can learn
quickly, and soon develop their own technique in the art of gem cutting.
Trevor Hannam
2000
ABOUT
the
AUTHOR
Trevor G. Hannam, born in Wudinna South Australia, moved to Cairns Queensland 1966. Introduced to faceting by Kay & Jimmy Gadd, where he
learned to facet with the help of Bob Johnson.
Furthered the study of gems by completing a diploma in ‘Earth Science’, and continued to study
the art of ‘Gemmology’ through kye Jewellers. Member of the 'Cairns
Mineral & Lapidary Club Inc.' where he use to teach the art of silver
smithing , Gemmology techniques and faceting. Currently Retired.
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 3
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
Light and its Properties
Page 5
CHAPTER 2
Faceting Machine
Page 11
CHAPTER 3
Faceting Equipment
Page 16
CHAPTER 4
Preparing Polishing Laps
Page 20
CHAPTER 5
Selecting Rough
Page 21
CHAPTER 6
The Standard Brilliant
Page 23
CHAPTER 7
Dopping
Page 24
CHAPTER 8
Rounding
Page 26
CHAPTER 9
Cutting the Pavilion
Page 29
CHAPTER 10
Polishing
Page 32
CHAPTER 11
Transferring
Page 37
CHAPTER 12
Cutting the Crown
Page 42
CHAPTER 13
Cutting Angles for different Minerals
Page 49
DESIGN CUTS
Emerald Cut
Page 51
Spidery Cut
Page 52
Ollen Cut
Page 53
Champagne Glass
Page 54
Kaytre Cut
Page 56
Kaytre No5 Cut
Page 57
References
Page 58
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 4
CHAPTER 1 - LIGHT & ITS PROPERTIES
S
peed of light Travels through air and space at 297,600 kilometres per second, but as it
passes through a solid object, such as a piece of glass, it does two things, slows down
and changes direction or bends.
Why does light slow down? Because it’s passing through a denser material than air.
For example, try driving a car through water. The water is more dense than the air, so we
are slowed down by it.
Why does light bend? As light tries to pass through the glass it is pulled due to the
sudden reduction of speed, because of the higher density. Lets take for example, that we
are driving on a sealed road and up ahead there is a small amount of water on the left hand
side of the road. As we hit this water at normal speed, the vehicle is immediately slowed
down and pulled to the left. This is exactly what happens when light passes through glass.
This phenomenon is known as Refraction and is constant in all gem stones.
REFRACTIVE INDEX
Is the speed of light divided by the speed of light in the mineral concerned
SINGLE REFRACTIVE
Light Path
Light Path
Refraction
297,600 Km/Sec
177,600 Km/Sec
297,600 Km/Sec
Light Path
In Calcite Crystals and some other
minerals light has the tendency to
split into two paths. This is known as
Double Refraction.
DOUBLE REFRACTIVE
Light Path
Refraction
Light Path
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 5
When a gem is cut properly with angles that are designed for it, the gem will cause
light to be internally reflected many times and thence returned through the table to your
eyes. It is the internal reflection and refraction which produces the little explosions of colour. The facets actually acting as tiny prisms.
White light breaks down readily if passed through a prism into the colours of a rainbow. As a kid I was taught this as a name; ‘Roy G. Biv’ - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue,
Indigo and Violet.
Red
Orange
Refraction
Yellow
Green
Blue
Indigo
Violet
Light Ray
Glass Prism
THIS PHENOMENA IS KNOWN AS DISPERSION
DOUBLE REFRACTION
Light can be affected in other ways in a crystal. Minerals can either be single refractive or
double refractive. In normal single refractive minerals, light behaves in its normal manner,
that is, it slows down, refracts and is internally reflected. In double refractive minerals, this
however is altered. Light is split up into two paths. This is due to the minerals atomic structure and its having one or two axis's of different lengths..
Calcite is a very good example of double refraction. If you place a piece of clear calcite
over some small print, you will clearly see the print doubled, as if you have gone cross eyed.
Original print shows
Up as two sentences.
Calcite Crystal
Diagram showing Double Refraction
In a Calcite Crystal
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 6
POLARISCOPE
Double refractive minerals can easily be identified by using a Polariscope, which is definitely required by the amateur faceter if he or she is looking for the best optical benefits.
A Polariscope consists of two discs of polarized plastic (or a cheap pair of Polaroid sunglasses) that are separated by a mechanical support. A light source is produced
underneath one of the discs. The gem rough is then placed atop of this disc, whilst
your eyes are looking through the top disc. The top disc is then turned until it reaches
it darkest point. The stone is then turned or rotated in a 360 Degrees revolution in all
directions until you see the best position of refraction. What you see as the gem is
turned is a lightness and darkness of the polarized light. Will be either 2 times for a
double refractive stone (known as uniaxial) or 4 times for a stone with a double axis of
double refractive stone (Known as biaxial). The axis of the stone or gem rough is the
part where the gem turns the least amount of light and dark.
Below is the principal of a Polariscope.
General Diagram of use of a Polariscope
Polarized disc when 90 Degrees
out of phase. Produces the darkest area. This is the correct position for viewing. The Polariscope
is a must for double refractive
stones, such as, Zircon and Peridot.
Blue Zircon
Direction of
Double Refraction
Light Source
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 7
THE CRITICAL ANGLE
As the angle of light from a source increases to the surface of a gem stone, the angle of refraction will also increase until a point is reached where it will run parallel with the surface
of the gem stone. The angle of incidence which causes the light to become parallel to the
surface is known as the Critical Angle.
If the angle of light exceeds the critical angle, the light source will become totally reflected. The minerals with a small critical angle will loose less light than ones that have a
larger critical angle. This means that gem stones with a smaller critical angle can prolong
the internal reflection of light thus producing more sparkle and colour.
WHAT LIGHT DOES WHEN THE ANGLE OF INCIDENCE IS INCREASED
Partial Refraction
Partial Refraction
Increasing Angle
Light runs parallel
with the surface
Critical
Angle
Critical Angle
Exceeded causing
Total reflection
Total Reflection
Partial Refraction
Partial Refraction
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 8
CUTTING OF CORRECT ANGLES AND WHAT CAN HAPPEN
IF THE ANGLES ARE NOT CORRECT FOR THE MINERAL
CONCERNED
TOPAZ CRITICAL ANGLE 37º
Cut from 39 to 42º
Angle 42º
This gem stone has been cut correctly
The angles are correct for the mineral
Topaz and has full total reflection
which produces those little explosions
of colour.
This gemstone has a dark centre and is
caused by excessive leakage of light
through the pavilion because it has
been cut at an excessive angle of 50
Degrees.
Angle 35º
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Angle 50º
This gemstone has what is known as a ‘Fish
eye’ effect, and is indicated by seeing
straight through the centre of the gem stone
producing a halo appearance around the perimeter. This is caused by cutting the gem
stone far to shallow, 35 Degrees.
Page 9
PLEOCHROISM
Certain minerals have a colour change which is caused by absorption of light when it passes
through different directions in the mineral.
If you turn a gem and see different colours from different directions, the mineral is
referred to as being Dichroic. A good example of this would be a sapphire. If looked straight
down upon the crystal, that is its ‘C’ axis, the gem will appear to be blue, but if looked at 90
Degrees or side on the crystal will appear green.
The gem Iolite also shows this phenomenon, but has three colour changes. Blue,
clear, and yellowish.
An instrument used for viewing this effect (dichroism), is called a Dichroscope, and is
made from a piece of clear calcite and a lens situated in a small tube.
SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL SHOWING PLEOCHROISM
Blue
Green
‘C’ Axis
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 10
CHAPTER 2 - HALLS MKII FACETING MACHINE
Light 40W
Coarse Height
Adjuster
Adjustable
Micro Height
Adjuster
Angle Cheater
Stop Indicator
Post
Dial Gauge
Speed Control
Water Reservoir
Control Box
Coarse Angle
Adjuster
Protractor
Angle Stop
Index Cheater
Index Wheel
Quill - Dop Arm
Water Spiggit
Valve
Chuck
Master Lap
Dop Stick
Nut
Swarf Tray
Remember, with any machine, no matter how good it is, will not be as good
as your eyes. The old saying “CUT A LITTLE LOOK A LOT” always apply.
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 11
ULTRA TECH FACETING MACHINE
40 Watt Lamp
Water Reservoir
& Valve
Coarse/Micro Height
Adjuster
Dial Gauge
Angle Cheater
Index Changer
& Free Wheel
Index Cheater
Nut
Protractor
Post Lock
Post
Speed Control
Diamond Lap
Swarf Tray
Index Wheel
Quill - Dop Stick
Swarf Waste
Tray
Set of Dop Sticks
&
Transfer Jig
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 12
Dial Gauge
Index Free Wheel
Lever & Lock
Angle Cheater
and Stop
Protractor
Index Cheater
Master Lap
Speed Controller
Set - 0
Rounding
Post
12VDC
Motor
Micro Height
Adjuster
Swivel Joint
Index
Wheel
Course Height Adjust
Quill - Dop Stick
Swarf Tray
Index
Cheater
CAMPER SERIES FACETING MACHINE
Post
Index Release Protractor
Lever & Lock
Angle
Stop Lock
Micro
Height Adjust
Water
Vessel
Coarse
Height Adjust
Index
Wheel
Post
Quill
Master Lap
Motor
Speed
Control
Nut
Swarf Tray
Post Lock
Transfer Jig
GEM MASTER G1
Indicator Stop Lamp
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 13
TERMINOLOGY

Quill & Alignment Tool
The quill or dop arm as it is sometimes called, houses the
mounted dop stick, and is attached to the toothed gear known as
Small Set Screw
the index wheel. This quill has either a self centre chuck or a small
set screw to lock the dop stick in position.
Some machines do not have alignment notches built into the quill
or transfer Jig, and alignment tools makes life easier for aligning
facets between the Crown and Pavilion. A good machine should
Quill with Dop Stick
have at least one of these. The alignment tool allows for perfect
realignment, should you have to remove or replace the dop stick at any stage whilst cutting
or polishing.

Index Wheel & Cheater
The index wheel is the large toothed gear and comes in a variety of indexes. Normally the
machine will come with a 96, and/or a 48 index wheel as standard equipment. These
indexes should be easily interchanged without
Index Wheel Release
difficulty. If not - be wary!
The index wheel can be released by pushing in the
arm of the spring retainer so the quill can be moved in
either direction (as with most machines). This arm can
be locked into position so the index wheel, and quill
can turn in a 360° for rounding.
A small amount of movement, either left or right of
96 Index Wheel
Index Cheater (showing No 2)
the main setting is available by using the index
cheater. The cheater will allow for small errors in cutting or polishing, and normally will
have a centre mark to help you show direction (left or right) when cheating.

Protractor, Stop & Cheater
The protractor is probably the most important part of the machine, and should have clear
engraved half degree divisions
Angle
Cheater
with a good marker, pointer or
face that can be seen, and read
from nearly all directions when in
normal operation.
The angle stop sets the quill to any
Stop
angle between 0 and 90° on the
Protractor (Set at 60º)
protractor, and should move
Angle Stop & Cheater
freely between the stop, and the
Angle Cheater
set angle. Most machines will incorporate a dial gauge and/or a
small indicator light to give the operator a warning when the stop
is reached. The stop should be solid, and held firm by a locking
device so the quill cannot past this point.
Located on the stop, may be an angle cheater, a small tapered
shaft that can be screwed in or out to adjust the angle by the 10th
degree, but be prepared, there are a lot of machines out there
Dial Gauge Fitted
that do not have an angle cheater, in fact most faceters will tell
you that the angle cheater is not necessary.
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 14

The Post & Coarse Adjuster
The post is the main support for the head assembly and is
90° to the base plate. The post can be either fixed or
adjustable along a slide that is fixed by a locking nut. On this
post, to which the head assembly is fitted, is a coarse
adjuster. This is a large knurled knob which releases or
tightens the head assembly to the post so the quill can be
raised or lowered by hand (coarse adjustment).

The micro Height Adjuster
Fitted to the head assembly or in some cases to the main
post support. The micro height
Coarse & Micro Height
Base Assembly Lock
Adjuster 0.02mm Increments
Pull Handle Down to secure Post to Base
adjuster should be adjustable
within a span of approximately 25mm, and is normally marked
in graduated steps of 1 to 5 thou increments. Some machines
do have micrometers fitted as part of their standard
equipment.

Water Reservoir
A good reserve of water should be
Water Container
available to the faceter. Normally
Valve & Spout
all faceting machines will have a
reservoir fitted to the side of the
Master Lap
swarf tray, and have a capacity of
RH Lock Nut
Main Post
500 mils minimum. A stop valve
should be fitted to allow control over the water flow, and the
container should be able to be swung away from the lap when
required.

Speed Control & Motor
All faceting machines must be driven by an electric motor of
Ultratech Swarf Tray
sorts (or can be hand crank). This can be by either 240V or
12/24 Volt, and is normally belt driven by stepped pulleys or variable speed
control.
If a fixed 2 or 4 pole motor is used, then the faceting machine should be
fitted with a stepped pulley system so the speed can be changed manually. A
good speed for minimum is 100 rpm to around 1400 + for fast speed.
The best system is a variable speed system either in 240V, 12 or 24 Volt.
Ultratech Speed Control
12/24 Volt is preferable due to high torque and less noise.
As mentioned earlier, all machines today can be considered a marvel of modern
engineering. Some are better than others, and some offer more incentive by gimmicks, and
attachments, but all in all, the faceter has to make the decision that suits him best. The
main criteria for any faceter is Ease of Operation when facing the machine in the standard
cutting mode.
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 15
CHAPTER 3
FACETING EQUIPMENT

FACETING MACHINE
Should include dop sticks, transfer jig, 45 degree angle dop and a flat dop. It seems that
quite a few faceting machine manufacturers don’t include flat dops in their kits. If you happen to be one of the unlucky ones, don’t despair, as a valve from an auto or bike shop will
suffice quite well. Just be sure that it has a 1/4” or 6 mm shank. Essential tools, such as
small spanners, screwdrivers and Allen keys are a must.

LAPS
A lap is a flat disc which is used to cut and polish gemstones. Today there is a multitude of
laps offered for sale, but non better than the good old copper lap. The copper lap has been
around for many decades, makes an excellent pre-polish lap and is still preferred by many
experienced faceters. These type of laps have to be charged with diamond powder, are
cheap and easy to maintain.
Metal bonded laps have diamond powder electroplated onto a thin copper disc which is
glued to a master lap made of aluminium. These type of laps are more expensive than the
copper laps, but cut flat and true with good clean facet edges. I have found from experience, that the pre-polish lap do have a tendency to become dull very quickly and therefore
is not recommended for the beginner until he or she has gained more experience. Coarse
laps on the other hand are a must for the faceter and will last an extremely long time and
are well worth the few extra dollars to buy.
Polishing laps also come in a variety of types, namely: Aluminium, brass, ceramic, Lucite,
cast iron, iron, tin lead, type metal, and even timber, but one can’t surpass the ever popular
tin lead lap for polishing as an all round general purpose type. Used with 50,000 mesh diamond powder, it will outperform all other laps due to the metal’s ability to polish most
gemstones.
LAPS REQUIRED
(1) Coarse 100 to 180 grit disc grit metal bonded type - Used for quick removal
(2) Coarse 220 to 300 grit metal bonded type
(3) Pre-polish 1200 and/or 3000 Copper Lap
(4) Polish Tin Lead lap - made from 60/40 solder or Type Metal
Once you have established yourself as a faceter, try experimenting with other laps. They all
work very well and you will find the aluminium lap extremely good for polishing sapphires.
The ceramic lap gives clean flat sharp facet edges, and is best suited to gemstones of 8+ in
hardness. Not to be considered as a general purpose lap, but if you are considering entering
faceting competitions, the laps superiority over soft laps must be well considered.
Cast iron and iron laps can be considered a second best to the tin lead lap. They give a
good crisp straight edge and are suitable for stones of 8+ (Topaz & Sapphire) that can only
be used with diamond powder and a good grade of olive oil. The laps coarseness or porosity of the metal makes it a good holder of polish powder. From experience, this lap can be
considered to be on par with the ceramic lap, giving precise clean flat facets and is worth
persevering with until the lap is worn in.
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 16
The last one to mention is the Lucite lap. Made of plastic and is normally used with
cerium or tin oxide powders mixed with water. This type of lap is generally used for
polishing Quartz, and requires the lap to be kept extremely wet while in use to prevent
heat build up and rounding of the facet edges. Quartz being one of the hardest minerals I
have found to polish can be assisted by the use of a small amount of vinegar added to the
polish mixture. Using Lucite laps require a very slow speed.

DIAMOND POWDER
Diamond grit used for cutting and polishing of gems come in a variety of sizes, ranging from
0.1 to 100 micron. The diamond powder that we use today is mostly made by man, and is
more consistent in particle size than natural stones which have been sieved by a screen.
Grit sizes of 80 to 325 normally come in a powder form from 1 carat to 5 carat vials. Whilst
600 mesh size and over can come in a variety of containers, vials,
syringes and spray packs.
To start, we will need 1 carat of each size, 1,200 mesh, 3,000 mesh
and 50,000 mesh. The 1,200 and 3,000 mesh are both the pre-polish
grade. 1,200 mesh is the all rounder for pre-polishing, whilst the 3,000
mesh is recommended for doing sapphires as they suffer badly from
‘Orange Peel’ or over cutting due to planes of softness within the
mineral. The 50,000 mesh is used for the polishing stages and is a
good all round polish powder. You can however use 100,000 mesh for
Diamond Products
polishing, but polishing of the facets will take a little longer. It has
100 Thousand Spray Bottle
Syringes - 14,000 & 50,000
been my experience that there is virtually no difference between
220 & 50,000 Mesh in
1 carat & 5 carat vials
these polishing powders when it comes to viewing the finished
product.

ADHESIVES
5 minute/24 hour epoxies and super glues (cyanoacrylate) are an added advantage when it
comes to faceting and all faceters should have in their arsenal, Loctite 416 Super glue,
Epoxy adhesive such as ‘Tite On’/JB Weld and a small tube of 5 minute araldite.
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 17

DOP HELP
A small container of dop help which you can buy direct from any good lapidaries supplier or
you can make your own.
Made from shellac flakes and methylated spirits. The shellac flakes can be bought from
paint suppliers or any good hardware store. Using a small glass container that has a tight
fitting lid, such as a Promite container - half fill with shellac flakes and pour methylated spirits onto the top until the container is full. Shake this container vigorously for a few minutes
once every day for 3 days and then let settle for a couple of days. Pour of the top part of
the liquid into a small vial etc. This makes an excellent dopping media for faceters wax, inexpensive and will last you for years.

DOP STICK HOLDER
A must for beginners or any enthusiasts, 3 or 4 dop stick holders. Made from a 1” broom
handle. Don’t use the wife’s broom for this venture or you may very well end up in the dogs
house. Cut 3 or more pieces from your broom handle approximately 30mm long and drill a
1/4” hole in the centre to a depth of around 15mm. These essential pieces of equipment
will be required to hold your dop sticks in an upright position for gluing, fixing and handling
your gem stones especially when using hot wax.

FACETING WAX
Faceters dopping wax is made from a mixture of Shellac flakes and red Ceiling wax. Dopping
with wax has been around since ‘God was a little boy’, and is still regarded as the all purpose adhesives for gem faceting. Normally faceting wax comes in a bundle five to six sticks
per pack and is relatively cheap to purchase. Occasionally green wax can also be used but is
a lot softer and can cause shifting of the stone whilst polishing due to heat build up.

HEAD LOUPE
A small head loupe of 3 1/4 power and/or a 5 to 10 power eye piece, preferably one that is
corrected, so there is no distortion of the outer rim when viewing an object. A good lens
that can be purchased cheaply, is an eye piece from a pair of binoculars (7X50 or 10X50).
You can pick these up at second hand markets etc, and they work extremely well.

KNIFE
Any small knife will be fine to use. This will have to be dedicated to the job, as the blade will
be used for heating, scraping, mixing and applying adhesives.

OLIVE OIL & Polish Extender
Cooking grade olive oil will do fine. This oil is used as a coating to hold and distribute the
diamond powder onto your pre-polish and polish laps.
When mixed with Shellite (1 part of olive oil to 40 parts Shellite), you create an excellent
cutting oil extender for both the pre-polish and polish laps. Also, makes a very good cleaner
for the laps. Pour the extender into a small spray bottle (50 Mil), as it will give a better coverage.
Beware of Naked Flames & Use Common Sense
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 18

OVEN
OVEN
A medium size jam tin that is cut out to suit your spirit lamp
to be used as a hot plate. Used for slowly heating your gem
rough to accept dopping wax to transfer onto the dop sticks

REFRACTOL
Available from any good lapidaries suppliers, and is a must
to the amateur faceter for seeing imperfections within a
piece of rough. This oil has a refractive index close to mid
range of most minerals, approximately 1.57. When this oil is
applied (with a small fine artist brush) to the gem rough, it
makes the surface extremely clear. Just like a piece of glass,
Spirit Burner
making it easier to view inclusions. You can also purchase
from a chemist some Clove and Cinnamon oil, as these have
refractive indexes 1.54 and 1.62 respectively and will help you view gem rough that have
lower and higher than 1.57.

SPIRIT LAMP
Almost any type of burner or even a candle will work as a flame heater for heating wax and
transferring, but you will find the alcohol lamp (as viewed above in a home made oven) will
be your best bet, namely because of its a clean flame and heating ability compared to some
other types.

VERNIERS & SCALES
A good pair of metric plastic vernier/callipers with dial
gauge to measure gem stones, a must if you consider going into competitions. Callipers can be expensive or cheap
- its best to get a good pair if possible, though I must admit in the end the pocket will decide the quality.
Not essential, but advantageous is a set of scales for
weighing your finished gem stones. The scales will need
to be able to weigh as low as .001 carat (there is 5 carats
to 1 gram).

1.
2.
3.
4.
MISCELLANEOUS
Soft tissues: The best to use here is soft Sorbent toilet
rolls, and it is a good idea to fix a toilet roll holder close
at hand when faceting.
Methylated Spirits and or Acetone make a good a cleaner
for dop sticks and cleaning of super glues etc.
Pen and Paper: Always keep at hand to write down information when faceting. Don’t try to rely on memory,
notes can always be referred to when required.
A small 4” trim saw would be a good investment, but can
be done without as most stones can be cut directly from
the rough. A small mandrel can be made by an engineer
to take a small blade on the faceting machine. This then is used to cut the mains of
the stone, thus saving the expensive laps.
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 19
CHAPTER 4
PREPARING A PRE-POLISH LAP

PRE-POLISH LAP
Making up your pre-polish lap is very easy. Using a
new copper lap, clean the surface with a tissue
with the extender fluid. Place a couple of drops of
olive oil on your lap, and with a clean tissue wipe it
all over the lap until it is almost dry. You will need
the vial of 1200 mesh diamond powder (pre-polish
powder). Wipe a clean finger over the lap, this will
leave a smear of oil on it. Open the 1200 mesh diamond powder, place the index finger over the top
and invert. Invert back again and lift the finger off
the vial. You will now see a grey coating of powder
on your finger. Place your finger in different spots
over the lap, and then spread the powder as evenly as possible over the laps surface with your finger.
The lap is now prepared, and will last a long time before the lap will need resurfacing with
diamond powder.
Placing powder on the
lap using a clean finger
Preparing your Copper
lap for pre-polishing
Pre-polish
Copper lap
Spreading the mesh
Powder over the lap
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 20
CHAPTER 5
SELECTING THE ROUGH
A
s we are a beginner, lets start with a piece of topaz. Topaz has a good relative hardness, has good refractive index, is nice and cheap and will produce a gemstone of
sparkling brilliance.

CLARITY - clearness
You have a piece of topaz that isn’t a piece of crystal, but has been water worn and is impossible to see through. Wetting this with water will help, but not enough to be able to see
the inclusions and flaws etc. This is due to the refractive index (RI) of the water (1.33) not
being high enough. To be able to view inside readily we need to use a liquid close to the RI
of topaz (1.63). The use of the refractol will do just that (or cinnamon oil). Paint this over
the stone with an artist brush and you will be able to see right through the stone as if it
were a piece of glass.
Look hard into the stone, use a five or ten power eye piece and see if there are any cracks,
inclusions of other minerals, cloud veils from ghost crystals or small bubbles that are probably filled with liquid. Obviously we are looking for a near flawless stone, but as nature will
have it ’Nigh Impossible’. The art of faceting is for you to be able to find the flaws and hide
them if they present a problem. By orientating a gem properly, flaws or inclusions can be
hidden under the girdle facets. Normally though, you wouldn’t bother unless special circumstances required it, like the piece of rough being regarded as a unique piece, sentimental value or having a high price. Usually the stone would be discarded for a better
piece. Also refer Chapter 3 section 3:8 on inclusions.
Now you have mapped out the interior of the rough for possible orientation and maximum
recovery of that stone.

COLOUR
‘C’ Axis
Does the stone you
Fracture
have selected have any
colour zoning in it, or is
Water Worn
Gem Orientated
Rough Topaz
5 to 6º off Axis
it all colour, maybe the
colour is lighter on one
side than the other!
Stones like amethyst,
citrine, sapphire and
blue topaz can have
Gem Orientation
one or more bands of
colour. If the colour is
Colour Zoning within
most important (and
The Gem Material
Cleavage
normally is), the rough
Crystal of
Plane
will have to be orienTOPAZ
tated in a position so
that the pavilion of the standard brilliant when cut is fully within the banding. Some care
however may be needed, so that the pavilion does not protrude past this point of colour
zone as the gem may loose the colour that we are looking for.
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 21
Colour banding should not be confused with Pleochroism, such as in sapphires, which are
double refractive. Sapphires should be orientated along the ‘C’ axis for best colour,
especially corn flour blue, otherwise you may very well end up with a green sapphire. Also
refer Page 10 on Pleochroism.

CLEAVAGE
Topaz has a cleavage plane which may or may not cause you a problem when polishing. If
the piece you have selected is a crystal piece, or shows the cleavage plane easily, then you
have no worries as orientation will easy. If your selected stone is water worn, and there is
no indication of the cleavage plane, I suggest that you just go ahead and orientate the
stone as if there were no cleavage. The chance of placing a stone exactly on the cleavage
line is a thousand to one, and far to much emphasis has been placed on this subject. Even if
you have placed the cleavage on one of the facets to be polished there will be no real
problem as polishing can be done by the hand technique discussed later in the section
under ‘Polishing’.
So, if your piece shows the cleavage (which is 90 degrees from the ‘C’ axis), you would
orientate this piece of rough approximately 5 to 6 degrees away from the axis.
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 22
CHAPTER 6 - THE STANDARD BRILLIANT
T
he first faceted stones happened sometime in the late 14th and 15th century, and
since that time was to be held a secret that was passed from father to son. The nineteenth century found the art of faceting and lapidary clearly available to all amateur and
hobbyists. Today, numerous books are written on the subject, and many clubs are willing to
teach this art.
Cutting the standard brilliant starts with a piece of rough which is rounded. Then a combination of facets are placed in geometrical patterns around the stone to make use of the optical properties of that stone, thus producing a brilliance which is pleasing to the beholder.
TERMINOLOGY
There are 57 facets in the standard brilliant - The crown consists of 33 facets, 8 main facets,
16 girdle facets, 8 star facets and 1 table facet, totalling approximately ⅓ of the total height
of the brilliant. The pavilion consist of 24 facets, 8 main facets, 16 girdle facets, totalling
approximately ⅔ of the total height of the brilliant. In some circumstances the culet can be
cut as a small flat facet to prevent it from fracturing and at times is considered good practice. The maximum girdle width must not exceed 5% of the total height.
Table - Approximately
50 to 60%
1/3
CROWN
Star Facets
Main Facets
Main Facets
Girdle
Facets
Girdle
Facets
Girdle
Facets
Girdle
Facets
2/3
Girdle Width
Maximum 5%
Main
Facets
PAVILION
Main
Facets
Pavilion Point
Known as the Culet
STANDARD BRILLIANT TERMINOLOGY
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 23
CHAPTER 9
DOPPING
O
ne of the most important parts of faceting - Dopping must be done correctly. There’s
nothing worse, especially to a beginner to have his or her gem stone full off at a crucial point because of improper dopping.

DOP STICK SIZE
Select the right dop stick for the stone, this would be approximately 50 to 60% of the size
of the finished article. This will come to you with trial and error, and after a while you will
be able to estimate with some accuracy the correct dop stick for the job.
Once you have orientated the stone correctly as per Chapter 8, you will have to grind a
small flat surface on the stone to accommodate the dop stick. This is done by placing the
coarse lap (220 Grit) onto the faceting machine’s master lap.
Turn the tap on the water container to the on position so a reasonable flow is running onto
the centre area of the lap surface. Set the machines speed to high.
Bring the stone to the surface of the spinning lap and using light pressure, proceed to cut a
small flat surface for dopping.
Using a piece of toilet tissue, wet it with methylated spirits and clean the ground area
(don’t forget to turn off the water and the machine, leave the lap on the machine for the
next phase of faceting). Paint this cleaned area with a very thin film of dop help (the one
you have made). The dop help will act as a binder for the transition of wax to metal

FIXING STONE TO DOP STICK
There are some stones that are quite heat sensitive, and it is best to use the modern day
epoxies, such as ‘Tite On’ and/or the super epoxy called “Weld It” which fully cures in 4
hours.
Set up the heater oven, and place the stone, painted side up onto the oven’s top. Place the
spirit lamp underneath the oven and light.
Gauging the right amount of heat will come to you only with experience, but as a guide line,
keep lifting the stone with your fingers until you find you can no longer hold it for more
than a couple of seconds, this is approximately the right temperature.
Whilst the stone is warming, place your selected dop stick in one of the dop stick holders
you have made.
Heat the end of the dop stick by placing the end into the flame. When reasonably hot bring
the faceters wax into the flame with the dop stick, and melt some of the wax onto the surface to form a small ball of melted wax. During this time you may have to keep the dop
stick moving around to retain the wax on the end. Continue to heat until the wax just catches fire (this is the right temperature for fixing).
Immediately place the waxed end of the dop stick onto the surface of the stones painted
side. Lift the combination from the oven and gently , before it cools, move the stone
around until it’s in the right position. BE VERY CAREFUL HERE AS THE STONE IS QUITE
WARM! - You can now see and appreciate the benefits of using dop stick holders
Put the dopped stone aside to cool down and prepare your faceting machine for the
next phase of your work.
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 24

USING EPOXIES - Dopping
Epoxies offer the faceter a simpler alternative to that of using wax. Both epoxies and superglues (401 Cyanoacrylate) are very reliable and have the advantage of being able to be
worked at room temperatures. They also offer the faceter, superiority from premature failure due to heat build up causing the stone to shift while you are transferring from one dop
to another and save many a burnt finger to which I can readily relate too.
Epoxies and Cyanoacrylates can be troublesome however when trying to remove the adhesive from the stone. M.E.K. thinners and or Acetone will help release most epoxies and superglues. Heat still is the best option for prying the gem stone away from the dop stick, and
works very well; another method is to place into the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes and then
pry apart, however this may not always work.
Using Epoxies - make sure the ground flat area on your stone has been cleaned with methylated spirits. Clean the head of your dop stick thoroughly too. You may even have to use a
piece of wet and dry silicon carbide paper or similar to get it clean.
Using ‘Tite On’ or ‘Weld It’ epoxy, mix equal parts of base and hardener together. Mix
extremely well. Place a small amount onto the dop stick and press onto the flat area of your
stone. Set aside for at least 1/2 hour for best results.
Super glues are not really recommended for initial stone dopping, unless a stone has
fallen off the dop whilst cutting where it can easily be glued back on. I have found superglues are far better used in transferring of dopped stones, and it is here that the adhesive
works best.
In summary wax has the advantage over epoxy with quick drying times as does superglues,
which means you could be faceting in just a few minutes after dopping. If you can wait,
then I recommend you use epoxy - it’s up to you!
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 25
CHAPTER 8 - ROUNDING
M
ost teachers of faceting begin with cutting the crown first, followed by the pavilion,
and has been taught this way for generations. Here we do the pavilion first, with the
crown and table facets being last. This technique allows for the amateur and professionals
to be able to estimate more accurately the depth of material left for the crown, have better
control of placing and hiding flaws under facets, easier transferring of the pavilion to crown
in the transfer jig and better control of placements of facets. The down side of this technique however is that the table facet (the last one to be cut) has to be ‘sat’ onto the star
facets and meet at every point. This can be considered good practice for when you venture
into the art of ‘MEET POINT FACETING’.
SETTING STONE TO QUILL - Rounding to form the ‘Girdle’
Set your index wheel of your faceting machine into free wheel, and protractor to 90°. Place
your coarse lap (220 Grit) onto the master lap and do the nut up firmly .
Now place the dop stick with the dopped stone on it into the chuck of the quill. Some machines, such as the Hall’s machine have specially shaped dop sticks that fit directly into the
quill. If your machine does not have this facility, just place the dop ⅔ of the way into the
chuck. Tighten up the chuck firmly.
Lift off the gate of the swarf tray, undo the coarse height adjusting wheel to free up the
head assembly and carefully lower the head so that the stone on the end of the dop stick
rest lightly on the edge of the coarse lap, re-tighten coarse adjuster - refer diagram below.
Wax
Swarf Tray
Dop Arm (Quill)
Locking screw
Gem Stone
Dop Stick
180 or 220 Grit Lap
Master lap
Gem Stone is Lowered so as to
Just Touch the Lap
Rounding the Gem Stone to form the ‘Girdle’
Now raise the stone slightly using the micro height adjuster to lift it off the lap. Start the
machine at fast speed, turn on the water at a reasonable rate so that it flows outward from
the centre of the lap. Slowly lower the quill with your micro height adjuster until you hear it
grinding against the lap.
Rotate the gem/quill assembly slowly in an anticlockwise direction or against the rotation
of the lap. Until you have gained experience in ‘rounding’, stick to the anticlockwise direction otherwise the gem may be grabbed by the lap and thrown off.
Keep turning until you hear a change in the grinding. This happens as you near the bottom
of the stop (the stop is where the cutting reaches its maximum depth, designed so that you
can’t cut any further than where you had the angle set).
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 26
Lift the stone off the lap and have a look at what is happening. You will notice that some
parts of the stone have been ground, and maybe some parts have not, but at this time you
should be able to see some effect of the rounding.
Continue the technique of lowering and grinding until it begins to look reasonably round.
Always stop and have a look at what is happening until you feel comfortable with what you
are doing.
Continue with your rounding by lowering and cutting until you hear the action of the cutting
stop. Check your progress until you think its right, a small pair of plastic verniers are handy
for checking out of round.
Rounding is an art, and will require a bit of practice, the old saying of ‘near enough is good
enough’ is not on here, and you must strive to get it perfect. Any variation, no matter how
small can cause errors in you facet sizes which progressively get worse. Even the best of us
have difficulties in getting it right, so don’t feel put off - PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
If you are having difficulties with rounding, it will be because of using too much pressure at
parts causing over cutting. To solve this problem I suggest you recut the stone in steps using
1200 Grit Pre-polish Lap (Refer Chapter 4 & Next Page - Pre-polishing). We do this by using
the index gear set at 2 indexes every cut - using a 96 index wheel will produce the 48 facets
needed.
Leave the assembly in the same position, place your index gear on 96 and lower the quill
until cutting recommences, and cut to the stop, and then go to index 2, there should be no
need to lower the quill again as you now have established the depth,. Repeat for all other
indexes - 4,6,8,10,12, etc until you are back at index 96. Always try and use the same pressure, this will alleviate the problems over cutting somewhat (pushing past the stop).
When you have finished you should have 48 tiny parallel facets as shown in diagram below
(this now called the ‘girdle’).
Don’t forget to turn your water off when you have finished
Standard Round
Step Cutting Round
48 Tiny Parallel
Facets
Wax/Epoxy
Dop Stick
ROUNDING OF
THE GEMSTONE
Dop Stick
You have now formed the girdle of your gem stone, it was hard but we got there. Raise
your quill away from the machine, and remove the coarse lap and place it in its holder.
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 27
Now it’s a good idea to check for flaws and inclusions that you could have missed when
viewing the rough. Paint a little refractol on the surface and do another check. If you see
some inclusions or flaws you must try and hide them under the girdle facets, or maybe they
will cut out when the pavilion is done. All this has to be decided here and now as to whether you should go on or not.
Clean everything up, including your gem stone still in the quill. Cleanliness is most important during these change over of laps. Make sure you pay close attention to cleaning
where your hand rests up against any part of the swarf tray. Any contamination from here
on can ruin all your work let alone the laps.
Next we put on the pre-polish lap (refer Chapter 4)
We Do Not Use Water Yet on This Newly Prepared Lap
PRE-POLISH - GIRDLE
Lower the quill until it just touches the lap as before. Lift the quill from the lap and start the
machine. Only use slow to moderate speed, we do not want to throw off all your diamond
powder.
Now! Depending whether you are doing it the’ round’ way or the faceted way for the girdle, it’s best to use very light pressure until you understand what is happening. If rounding
the girdle, the index wheel will be in free wheel and should be turned against the rotation,
which is normally anticlockwise. In the faceted girdle you will be starting on index 96 and
progressively indexing every 2 indexes until you have completed all facets.
Remember we are only trying to remove only the scratches from the last lap, and newly
prepared laps cut fast. There will be no need to remove much material. When the facet/s
look satiny all over the facet/s are done. If the lap seems too dry, add a couple of drops of
cleaner or polish extender to it and spread with a finger. This may get a bit messy with the
oil, but that’s what we have the toilet tissue for. Always clean the stone every time you
need to look at it. Check to make sure you have the girdle as round as you can get it. Ok
that done, lift the quill aside and put away your pre-polish lap.
You may have noticed that there was no need to use water at this time, this is because the
gem is being used to push diamond into the copper lap, just like when you rolled the coarse
lap. Later though, this wont be the case, as the diamond is pushed in, the oil becomes
fouled and forms a barrier making it more difficult to use, it’s here that the lap is washed
with hot soapy water until all of the swarf is gone, and from that stage on you will be using
water as the lubricant. By doing the lap this way, you are getting the most benefit from the
pre-polish powder, and will be able to do 3, 4 or more gem stones for a measly amount of
diamond powder.
Your next step is cutting the pavilion.
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 28
CHAPTER 9 - CUTTING THE PAVILION
EIGHT MAINS COMPLEX
Set the new angle on the index head to 42° as this is the angle designed for the pavilion
mains of the gem topaz. Reset the index to 96 if you have not done so.
Place the coarse lap on the master lap (don’t forget to clean everything prior). Now you are
ready to cut what is known as the ‘Eight Complex’. That’s the first 8 facets, and it’s best to
cut them opposite to one another, this has the effect of reducing progressive error which
must be avoided.
Using your coarse adjuster, lower the head assembly so that the gem stone just touches the
lap as before, and lock into position. Turn on the machine, water at a moderate rate and
lower the quill by the height adjuster.
When cutting or polishing, always use a sweeping motion across the full surface of the lap,
by doing this you are preventing lap wear (forming a groove), and preventing harsh scratches and striations on the gems surface.
Cut the first facet to the stop and have a look. You will notice a small facet starting to cut
into the gemstone. Lower the quill a little more and again cut to the stop.
Now! Lift the quill and change the index to the complete opposite no, that is 48, and again
cut this facet to the stop.
see a large chisel point starting to form the pavilion. So far, so good. Go ahead and cut the
other six main facets in their opposite numbers - 24, 72, 60, 36 and 84.
Familiarise yourself to what is happening and you should be seeing the mains forming to a
perfect point . Continue with same sequence - lower a little, cut and look until the mains
come to a perfect point (check that you do not have any chisel points at the pavilion point
as these will cause errors when doing the girdle facets). This point of the pavilion is now
commonly called the culet.
You have just completed the roughing in of the first major facets of the gem stone - Well
Done! Now it’s time to change over to the pre-polish lap. Again lift the quill away from the
lap. Put away the coarse lap and clean the machine as before. Make sure that you also
clean the gem stone and quill with toilet tissue wetted with methylated spirits. It is very important that this is done to prevent cross contamination from coarser grits.
Chisel Point Facet, Does not meet to a point - All Facets Meet To a Point
ORDER OF CUTTING
96
84
8
72
8 Mains
42º
5
4
3
6
60
Pavilion
12
1
Culet
24
Topaz
THE 8
COMPLEX
7
2
Wax/Epoxy
36
48
Dop Stick
Index No’s
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 29
Put on the pre-polish lap as before - you should be an old hand at this now.
Again readjust the quill so it just touches the lap, and repeat all the procedures as before. You may find when doing these larger facets that a couple more drops of extender will
be required Remember that the pre-polish cuts extremely fast when new, and requires only
a little pressure to achieve that satiny look. Make sure that all facets come to the exact
point (no chisel points) and that no scratches can been seen under a 25 or 40 watt lamp. You have now completed the 8 mains of the pavilion. All the other facets on the pavilion
will now be done on the pre-polish lap so it can be left on the master lap.
CUTTING GIRDLE FACETS
Cutting the girdle facets are a little harder than cutting the 8 mains and require “cut a little,
look a lot technique”. Set the index to 3 and the angle to 44°, this is the girdle facet angle
for topaz and is normally 2° more than the mains. These girdle facets extend to about half
to two thirds of the way to the culet, and meet adjoining facets in the centre on the main
facet, there being sixteen of them. Refer below:Relubricate the lap with cleaner/extender and start your machine, assuming you have
already made the necessary coarse adjustments for the new angle .
93
ORDER OF CUTTING
3
9
87
2
Pavilion
1
9
16
81
16 Girdle
44º
15
10
15
8
75
Culet
21
5
Topaz
6
7
69
27
11
14
33
63
13
12
4
Wax/Epoxy
3
Dop Stick
39
57
51
45
Index No’s
THE 8
COMPLEX
Again bring down the quill using the micro height adjuster until the gem stone just touches
the lap. Cut a little and then have a look to see what is happening.
You should start to see the beginnings of a small triangle. Now repeat this step on the index
number 93.
You now should have something like two triangles approaching one another as shown on
the diagram next page. Lower the quill a little more and repeat the exact same procedures
as above.
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 30
You will definitely notice the two triangles
cutting higher up towards the culet and closer
together at the base line. If everything is OK,
just continue repeating the above until the
facets meet dead centre of the mains as
shown on the diagram lower right. You will
50% +
also notice the height has automatically
adjusted to about ½ - ⅔ way up to the culet.
Now what you have just done is establish the
correct adjustments for the rest of the girdle
facets, so don’t alter height or any other
adjustments. Again you will have to work the
opposite indexes as you did with the mains.
The next set to do will be indexes 45 - 51.
Use the same procedures as before, and you
then will have done another pair. From there
you go on to do indexes 21 - 27, 69 - 75, and
when these four pair have been done you can
Same Height
then go ahead and do the next four pair, but
these will be easier as all that has to be done is
to meet the points of the adjacent pairs. The
indexes are 9 - 15, 33 - 39, 57 - 63, and 81 - 87.
Main Facet
3
93
Congratulations! and well done, you have just
successfully cut the whole pavilion.
Centre
Take off the pre-polish lap and put it away,
clean the gem stone and quill thoroughly with a tissue dampened with metho. These bits
will be covered with oil, copper oxide and some diamond powder that hasn’t been rubbed
in whilst cutting. While your at it clean around the swarf tray, especially paying attention to
the area where your hand touches. You cannot afford to get contamination on the polish
lap or you can considered it ‘Buggered’. The cost of re-lathing a lap today is not all that
cheap.
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 31
CHAPTER 10 - POLISHING
P
olishing; an art in itself - Pro’s and amateurs alike will tell you that cutting a stone is
relatively easy compared to polishing, and can be considered to be the most important part of faceting, and so it is. Unless you get it right it just won’t do. Gems that have
microscopic scratches, grooves and lap striations (due to polishing in one spot on a turning
lap) will loose a lot of brilliance. Light reflection requires a good polished surface. If light
hits a good polished surface it is totally reflected, but if it strikes a poorly polished surface,
light will be sent in all direction, most of which will be lost outside of the gem thus producing a gem of less brilliance that looks hazy or fuzzy, so it stands to reason that a good polish
is essential for obtaining a gem with lots of brilliance and scintillation. You must always
strive for perfection in polishing, because in the end it will definitely pay off.
Today there is an arsenal of combinations that use different laps and agents for polishing, but non better than that of the old reliable tin lead (60/40 solder) and 50,000 diamond powder. True enough, there are times that it will not work on a gem that seems to
defy all combinations, and that is where at times hand lapping can come into its own. This
has saved my bacon many a time, and it is worth spending some time on it, so you too can
acquire a technique of your own (discussed later).
Ah!
Perfect
One of the main advantages of using diamond
powder compared to other
combinations such as Linde
A and tin lead is that diamond powder does not
have a tendency to ‘ball’
and cause scratching on
the polished surface of the
gem. Therefore, the lap
does not have to be scored
as required by other combinations. This lap is also a
dry lap as no water is used
during the polishing stages
and is one hell of a lot less
messy, and very economical to use.
IF AT FIRST YOU DONT SUCCEED - TRY, TRY AGAIN
A saying worth its weight in gold. Don’t give up, faceting is truly a wonderful hobby.
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 32
Light Rays
TOPAZ
Not
Polished
Good Polish
Total Reflection
Lap Striations
Polish Scratches
Lap Contaminated
Deep Scratches
Olive oil (as used in the polish extender) is used for preparing the polish lap as diamond
powder has a great affinity for oil.
Polishing is done in the reverse order of cutting, that is girdle facets first followed by
the mains. The reason for this is that diamond powder is an abrasive polish, and therefore
cuts a little when polishing, which causes the facets to be over cut. When you come to do
the girdle facets, you will notice they ride up on each other due to this over cutting, so
when doing the main facets you will notice the facet cutting back towards the true girdle
line.
12:1 PREPARING POLISH LAP
Put on the tin/lead lap (polishing), and clean the surface with the extender thoroughly. Using a piece of toilet tissue, wipe the surface dry.
You may notice that the lap appears greasy looking, and you would be right. That thin film
of olive oil left on the lap is the base to which the diamond powder will adhere.
Now’s the time to get out the 50,000 mesh diamond powder. Unscrew the top off the
vial, wipe a clean finger across the lap (this will leave a small smear of oil on your finger),
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 33
place the finger on top of the vial and invert. Invert back again and wipe this grey
powder which has adhered to your finger
over the surface of the lap as thoroughly as
you can. This process should theoretically
polish your whole stone, but in practice
doesn’t, this is mainly due to the oxides
from the tin and lead fouling the lap.
Inverting Vial For
Powder to Stick To
Finger
Placing Powder On
The Lap Using a
Clean Finger
Preparing Your
Tin/Lead Lap for
Polishing
Tin/Lead Polish Lap
Spreading Powder
Over The Lap
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 34
POLISHING GIRDLE FACETS
Set the index wheel to index 3 if you have not already done so, and leave the angle as it was
(44°). Lower the quill with the coarse height adjuster as before so that it just touches the
lap and tighten into place. Lift the quill aside and turn the faceting machine on to low
speed. Using the micro height adjuster raise or lower the quill until you can just hear (or
feel) the gem stone touch the lap, and then lift off again. Now disconnect the stop by
setting the angle to around 25° or so. By doing this you have, relieved pressure from the
angle stop so the head assembly can’t be pushed, stressed or bent out of shape by pushing
past the stop when raising of the quill is required. We certainly cut to the stop, but never
polish on the stop. Until you are thoroughly conversed with cutting DON’T DO IT.
Put the gemstone against the lap gently, and work it across the surface for approx
two seconds. Lift the quill up, clean the facet with a piece of tissue, and check to see how
it’s polishing. The girdle facets depending on the size, should only take approximately 5 seconds to polish. Hmmm! It doesn’t look right, only the top appears to be polishing. WHAT TO
DO. By lowering a very small amount with the micro height adjuster, you will be altering the
contact area of the polishing so that the bottom half comes into better contact. A good
point to remember: If it’s high - lower height — if it’s low - increase height
Now try again for a second. Yes, that’s much better, we now have full
Lower Mast Assembly
contact of the surface.
Never polish longer
than several seconds at
a time as this causes a
heat build up in the
gem, and may cause
the stone to shift.
POLISHING & LIGHTING
Now! Is that facet really polished. Can you
‘SEE’ that facet clearly.
Lets look at that light
you are using. You’re Lowering the Mast Assembly pushes the gemstone forward which puts the unpolished facet into
better contact with the lap surface.
what? Using a 60 watt
globe. No! No! No ! You
may very well be ‘blinding yourself’ with the illumination.
40 Watt Bulb
A few pointers on using lighting before you go any furMaximum
ther:
The best lighting you can use is a single 40 Watt standard clear household globe or 12 Volt 21 Candle power.
Preferably with a dimmer control fitted. I have found
by experience all the fancy lights and high wattages
are a big mistake. A light that is too bright, actually
masks the scratches so that you cannot see them.
Eye Looks For
Polished Surface
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 35
What you are looking for are shadows across the scratches. Not a brilliance that nearly
blinds you, and gives you severe eye strain. As you become more familiar with the lighting
you will understand the logic and reasoning behind using very low wattages. Try to get the
reflection of the filament on the facet, and as sure as you are reading this, the scratches if
there will jump out and grab you. Always try and go for perfection when polishing and you
will not be sorry afterwards
Wow! The first facet is polished and completed. Congratulations, but don’t get too cocky,
we've got a long way to go. Go ahead and do the rest of the facets as outlined (you do not
have to do opposites when polishing, as they are already cut and set). Indexes - 3, 9, 15, 21,
27, 33, 45, 51, 57, 63, 69, 75, 81, 87 and 93. Finished! Good now reset the machine to do
the main facets (that’s the eight large facets - 8 complex).
Using the angle 42°, set up and start polishing as you did for the girdle facets. Don’t forget
to disconnect the stop when set up is complete. We do not want to stress the quill.
You will notice as you are polishing the mains, the point will cut down to the girdle line to
meet as three points, and that the polishing of the facet will take longer as the facet is larger.
If you find the polish is loosing its ability to work well. Go ahead and redo the polish lap as
outline in Chapter 10
When you have completed the pavilion, clean the gemstone, and quill with toilet tissue and meths and then take out the dop stick from the quill.
NOTES:
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 36
CHAPTER 11 - TRANSFERRING
Locking Screws
Wing Nut
Pressure Plate
Dop Stick Holders
Wing Nut
Dop Stick Transfer
Alignment Tool
Can be made cheaply
Tension Spring
Dop Stick Holders
TYPICAL TRANSFER BLOCK
‘V’ Slide
A
bove is a typical transfer jig, and is a must for transferring the pavilion of the gem
stone to face about so that the crown can be cut. It is an extremely efficient and accurate way to transfer from one dop stick to the other without losing alignment of facets. In
faceting you must have a good transfer block. These can be checked by putting in a couple
of the same size dop sticks in the holders, and bringing them together. Run a finger nail
across the join, and if your nail digs in at the junction at one point and not the other side,
you should have an engineer check out the alignment of the transfer block - or check the
dop sticks for bending.
A dop stick alignment tool and/or a transfer jig with adaptors makes life easier for aligning
the main facets up.
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 37
CLEANING & PREPARING DOPS FOR TRANSFER
Clean the pavilion with a little meths and toilet tissue. Brush a little dop help on the gem,
and I mean a little. If you use too much dop help, it takes a long time to dry effectively, and
this will cause the gem to shift due to the longer heating time required to dry it.
Place the dop stick into one of the transfer blocks (normally the left hand side) and then
select the opposite dop, which will be a cone shaped to fit the pavilion, and approximately
half to three quarters diameter of the gem stone. Melt a small amount of wax into the cone
of the dop stick, and when cool place it in the other side of the transfer block.
Pressure Plates
Retaining Nuts
Transfer Block
Gem Stone Pavilion
Melted Wax on
Cone of Dop Stick
TRANSFERRING the DOP STICKS
Transfer dopping - the idea is to heat the dop stick (not the one with the gem stone in it), to
The pressure plates are adjusted so that the dop sticks holders can slide in or out, but firmly.
melt the wax while slightly heating the gem stone on the other dop, yet not allowing the
gem stone to get too hot to soften the wax (which will cause the gemstone to shift). When
the heat is just right, you slide the heated dop stick into the other one holding the gem
stone, so the wax will grab and hold.
Sounds terrible! But not all that difficult once you have had a few goes. The best way to
learn, would be to practice transferring a piece of rough topaz from one dop stick to the
other.. OK! The real thing now - With spirit lamp lighted and flame settled, begin heating
the dop stick close to the end near the wax (remember not the one with the gem stone in
it). As it begins to melt.
Slightly apply the heat to the gem stone whilst not losing the heat from the melted wax. As
the wax starts to get very runny and catches fire, quickly press the heated dop up against
the gem stone. Speed here is critical, otherwise the transfer wont succeed. If the wax is allowed to cool by loosing its heat, it will not grab the stone (refer diagram next page).
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 38
Melting Wax
Gem Stone
Pavilion Painted
With Dop Help
This Dop Stick
Is Normally Locked
Into Place
Spirit Lamp
Melted Wax is
Pushed into the Gem
Stone
This Dop Stick
Is Normally Locked
Into Place
Right Hand
Dop Stick
Slid Across
This may sound like you need a medical degree, or have eight hands to do the job, but it is
relatively easy, and will come to you with patience and practice.
Let the whole assembly cool down for ten to fifteen minutes (have a smoko break) and take
out the assembly from the transfer jig by releasing and removing the pressure plates, and
undoing any locking screws in the slides as above. Now test the join. The assembly must be
firm, don’t use too much pressure as waxes wont take it, and as sure as God was a little
boy, it will come apart.
SUPER GLUE - (Cyanoacrylates) Loctite 401 a one-part instant adhesive made for porous,
difficult to bond materials and has good gap filling abilities. High strength bonds wax to
brass, alloy or steel with very fast fixing times of 5 to 30 seconds. Full cure 10 to 12
minutes. Loctite 406 is another favourite that can be used but has no gap filling abilities, so
it is important if using 406 to get a close mated surface.
Set up the gem stone as per section 13:1, but do not apply any dop help onto the gem
stone. We do not want the wax to grab and hold in this application. Apply heat slowly to
the coned dop stick (not the one with the gem stone) until the wax softens and begins to
melt.
Remove the heat and push the dop stick into the gem stone. Lock up the wing nuts and
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 39
let cool down. This will only take a couple of minutes.
Loosen the wing nut holding the cone dop only and pull away from the gem stone. A small
force may be required here, but will normally come away easily. You will see and impressed
version of the gem stone into the wax.
Apply a very small amount of superglue to the impression. Do not overdo the superglue as
too much will cause a weak joint. Press the dop stick hard against the gem stone and lock
the wing nut. After a few minutes it is completely cured and you can now follow the next
procedures, as removal etc applies to all forms of dopping.
TRANSFERRING WITH EPOXY
Today epoxies make life easier, as they alleviate the problems associated with melting wax
shifts. Prying dop sticks apart or away from the gem stone requires the same technique
used in wax transferring. The only disadvantage of using epoxies is there setting time. As
with wax and super glues, epoxies use exactly the same technique, except that heat is not
used for fixing of the gem stone or the dop stick.
SEPARATING DOP STICK FROM GEM STONE
‘Without alignment tool’ If the machine you have has dop stick locating areas built into the
transfer block and quill, there will be no need to use the alignment tool, as the alignment of
the dop sticks and transfer is done automatically.
Next heat up the dop stick (Geeze! Not the one you just transferred, THE OTHER ONE), until
the wax softens enough to remove. This also takes a little practice, as you are trying to heat
the one side to soften the wax just enough to remove it without transferring any heat at all
to the other side.
Twist and Push
Until Releases
Heat Until Wax
Softens
Hold Dop Stick Steady
Spirit Lamp
Very carefully scrape away the wax and clean the gem stone with toilet tissue moistened
with meths. Put the transferred dop stick into the quill, and locate the alignment notch and
tighten the quill nut or screw firmly.
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 40
NOTES PAGE:
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 41
CHAPTER 12 - CUTTING THE CROWN
P
ut your transferred dop into the quill and lock into place if you have not already done
so. Adjust the angle of the protractor to 39° (this is the angle for the crown mains),
and place the index gear onto 96.
Place the coarse lap (220 grit copper lap), onto the master lap and lock into place. Adjust
the coarse height adjuster as before, to lower the quill and gem stone so that the gem
stone just touches the lap, and lift off.
Again we are cutting the 8 complex, but there is a difference here, as the cutting will only
progress to a certain level to form what is known as the girdle facet. The girdle cannot exceed 5% of the total height of the stone.
THE GIRDLE
The girdle can be round or stepped cut as previously discussed in Chapter 8, under
‘Rounding’. The girdle can be no more than 5% of the total height of the finished gem
stone. Well now! You might be thinking, how the hell do I do this when all I’ve done is the
rounding and the pavilion? Good question, and it so happens that there is a simple formula
for working this out.
To arrive at the maximum total girdle width, multiply the diameter of the stone (this is after
rounding), by .034 Lets say for example that you have a 10 mm stone after rounding. Multiply this by .034 and you have 0.34 mm. This formula gives you an approximate girdle width
for a standard brilliant of 1/3 crown x 2/3 pavilion.
You may have noticed, the girdle wasn’t polished. In competition it’s a must, but I for one
like the frosted girdle look, it’s up to you. Polishing should be done prior to transferring.
THE MAINS
Switch on the machine, fast speed, and water at a moderate rate (just fast enough to keep
the lap wet when turning). Start cutting the mains as before, Chapter 9, using a sweeping
action across the lap. Keep lowering (using the micro height adjuster), and cutting until you
get to approximately 5%. The reason for stopping At 5% is that you still have to cut on the
pre-polish, and this will take up approx 1 to 2% of the width, leaving you around 3%. Once
you have cut this first facet to the set level, you
Maximum Girdle no longer have to re-adjust the machine for the
Width 5%
other seven facets.
Go ahead and proceed with the opposite index:
- 48, and then 24, 72, 12, 60, 36 and 84. You
may find that when you are cutting the eight
main facets, that the facets may or may not
reach to a point. Do not worry if the later is the
case, as the star facets, and the table have yet
to be done. Once the eight mains have been
completed, stop the machine, clean the area
thoroughly. Don’t forget the stone.
The 8 Mains
Take the pre-polish lap and give it a good clean
by scrubbing with detergent and water. The
1200 grit diamond powder has been pushed
into the copper lap after all that cutting,
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 42
And is ready for using water only as the lubricant.
Place the pre-polish lap on the master lap, and lower the quill so that the gem stone just
touches the lap, lift off and start the machine (moderate speed only). You know the drill!
Repeat all the above steps for doing the mains, and pay particular attention to the facets
for that satiny finish.
You may also find that the pre-polish lap cuts extremely fast, so watch that you do not cut
too deep. The girdle thickness has to be even all way round, otherwise progressive error
will result. This may not be apparent until the girdle facets are done.
OK! You have finished the crown mains. Dammed good work! You have come a long way
since first putting on the stone to the dop stick. Now come those girdle facets, so lets go.
CUTTING THE CROWN GIRDLES
Leave the pre-polish lap on, as this is the lap that you will use, and be cutting the girdle facets. Reset the angle of the protractor to 44°. The angle for girdle facets is normally plus 5°
of that of the mains.
Readjust the machine height so that the gem stone just touches the lap. You should
be an old hand at this now, and it will come to you automatically. Start cutting the girdle
facets as you did for the pavilion. Always adjust the micro height a little bit at a time, and
do not try and cut past the stop. - Remember! ‘Cut a little, look a lot’. The indexes are the
same, and in opposites: 3-93, 45-51, 21-27, 69-75, 9-15, 33-39, 57-63, and 81-87. The completed girdles should looks as per the diagram below.
96
84
Crown
12
1
8
8 Mains
39º
5
4
72
ORDER OF CUTTING
3
6
24
THE 8
COMPLEX
7
Pavilion
Wax/Epoxy
2
60
Topaz
Dop Stick
36
48
ORDER OF CUTTING
Index No’s
87
16
93
3
2
1
81
9
16 Girdles
44º
15
10
15
75
Crown
9
7
5
21
Topaz
8
69
6
14
11
33
63
13
57
4
51
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
27
3
Pavilion
Wax/Epoxy
12
39
Dop Stick
45
Page 43
So far so good. The girdle and main facets have been done, and all we have to do now is to
cut the stars in to meet the girdle facets. Change laps to the coarse one.
CUTTING THE STAR FACETS
The star facets are cut at an angle of 24°. To work out this angle, take away 15° from the
main facet. There are eight star facets which are cut so that they meet the apex of the girdle facets, and have a different index number compared to the mains and the girdle facets.
These are: 6, 18, 30, 42, 54, 66, 78 and 90 in that order.
Adjust the angle of the protractor to 24°, and set index to number 6. Set up the height as
normal practice, and turn on the machine, and water. Remember the coarse lap is on so
the water will need to be at a faster rate.
Lower the quill so that the gem stone just touches the lap, and cut a little, lift up, and look
to see what is happening. There should be an inverted triangle or star with its apex coming
down to meet the apex of the girdle facet. Caution is required when cutting down to meet
other facets as we are using the coarse lap, so you must leave a small amount of material
for the pre-polish to cut for the final meets, otherwise you will have to redo the whole
crown as the stars would then cut into the girdle facets.
When the first facet is cut close to the girdle apex, change index and do the next set. There
will be no need to do opposites, as these star facets are being cut to meet an existing point.
All finished, clean the machine thoroughly, and put on the pre-polish lap. Set the quill to
suit the new lap. Don’t forget! The index start is 6,
Apex Meets
and the angle stays the same.
Pre-polish the star facets to meet the girdle facets.
Star Facet
Do it slowly as there is only a small amount that
need to be cut. Bring the apex of the star facet down
to meet the apex of the girdle facet. Good! This technique is commonly known as ‘meet point’ and is
Mains
good training for cutting oval brilliants. The finished
stars should be as shown below.
ORDER OF CUTTING
Girdle
90
6
6 Stars 24º
78
8
2
7
6
54
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
3
5
66
18
1
4
30
42
Page 44
POLISHING CROWN FACETS
Set up the polish lap. Did you clean the gem stone and machine?. If not, DO IT NOW!
As you have done many times before, set up the stone to the lap. The angle of the protractor does make this one a bit more difficult to set up. Just remember to adjust with the
coarse, followed by the micro height adjuster to just touch the lap. Don’t forget to release
the stop to prevent stress to the quill.
Start the lap on low speed, and proceed to sweep a couple of times across the lap. I presume that you have placed the index on 6 and not some other index. If you have not, you
will notice straight away as the gem will either cut into the lap or make one horrible grating
noise. No harm should be done to the facet, other than slightly rounding a facet, which you
should be able to polish out.
Check the facet. ‘Oh Damn! the facet isn’t polishing right’. It appears that the facet isn’t set
right. The polishing is once again showing on the right hand side and slightly down.
This is how you must fix the problem. Look at the polish and determine which way the gem
has to rotate to get the left hand side to polish. Yes! That’s right! - it’s has to move in towards you as you look at it. To do this, turn the index cheater anticlockwise (as with most
machines), which brings more of the left hand side in contact with the lap surface.
Redo the facet again across the lap a couple of times and check again. You now should now
see the facet is polishing towards
the left hand side now, you may
even have to give the cheater
another little turn to the left. As
you use the cheater, always turn
it a small amount. OK! You now
have moved the facet closer to
the lap and is polishing, but the
lower part is still not polishing.
As you did once before, if you
lower the height of the mast, the
bottom of the facet will come in
contact with the lap. Just use the micro height adjuster and give it a nudge so the head lowers a fraction (normally anticlockwise lowers).
Try again, and yes! you have it. Once you have this set up all The other facets can now be
done in reverse order - 90, 78, 66, 54, 42, 30, and 18.
The polishing technique just discussed is at most a worse case scenario, and most times
after set up there is very little cheating to be done.
Now go ahead and reset the head assembly as if you were going to cut the girdle facets. Angle 44° index 93. Remember don’t forget to disconnect the stop after set up.
After the girdle facets are done, go ahead and do the main crown facets. You should be an
old hand at this now, and find it relatively easy. Angle 39° index 84, work in reverse order.
As you were polishing you should have noticed the slight over cuts from the previous polishing now coming back to form the meets of the triangles.
OK! All finished - lets clean up, place the polish lap away, and remove the gem stone/dop
stick from the quill.
You have virtually finished the gem stone now, and only require one more facet to do, and
that is the crown table. This table is very big and I will be discussing this as another worst
case scenario where you will have to use the cheater in both cutting and polishing. This now
should be easy for you, and cause you no problems.
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 45
SETTING UP THE 45° ANGLE DOP
Select the 45° angle or 'D' dop. When set at 45° on the protractor, the gem
stone should be perpendicular to the lap surface (90°), which makes the crown
facet parallel with the lap surface, though most 45° angle dops are accurate a
Flat Dop
lot are not and the following procedure should be used .
Place the flat dop into the 45° angle dop and tighten the nut so the dop stick is
held firm. Place the angle dop into the quill, but do not tighten the nut.
Set the angle protractor to say 44°, and index to 96.
As the crown facet is relatively large go ahead and place the coarse lap on the
master lap.
Lower the assembly onto the
lap as before, making sure that
45º Angle
Wing Nut the angle dop does not fall out
45º Angle Dop
Dop
of the quill. Lower the flat dop
until it lies relatively flat against
the lap. Look side on and adjust
Adjust Index
the height adjuster up/down,
Cheater
and check that all is flat to the
surface, and while holding the
flat dop against the lap lock the
nut on the quill in place. ReFlat & Level
check for flatness and readjust
using height adjuster and index
cheaters if required. Now look at the angle and record the
Lowering Head Assembly Pushes
reading for future reference (ie it may be 44.5°). Lock the stop
Flat Dop Across and Down so That
in place at 44.5°. The flat dop is now parallel with the lap surthe Dop Becomes Flat Against the
Lap Surface
face (recheck to be sure).
This technique should be adopted every time you cut a stone,
though you can just set the angle to 44.5° now as you have already determined the angle for your
transfer jig. This process makes the crown table facet exactly 90° to the girdle.
Lift the quill, and remove the flat dop from the 45° angle dop. Place the gem stone/dop stick assembly in the 45° angle dop and tighten (when fitting the stone into the angle dop, eye ball one of the
mains facets so that it is 90° to an end of the angle dop, this will help to keep all the facets in their
correct order).
Main Facet 90º to the end
Dop Stick
Quill
Coarse lap
45º Angle Dop
Gem Stone
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 46
CUTTING THE TABLE FACET
The table facet may look difficult, but is extremely simple, and shouldn’t prove to be any
problem. The facet will be cut to meet precisely eight only star/girdle facets.
Set up the machine as normal so that the gem stone just touches the lap. Lift off, turn on
the water and start the machine. Lower the quill and cut a little. Here you must again use
the technique of ‘cut a little look a lot’, because you can’t afford to over cut this facet.
The beginnings of a facet making its way to the points of the girdle star facets should be
apparent. Lower the height a fraction and cut a little more - Check. When you have nearly
approached the meets, stop and change the lap to the pre-polish lap. Clean up as normal
and set the stone to the lap as usual.
Remember why this is being done? We can’t cut directly to the meets as you will certainly
over cut when going to the next stage. Always leave short the meets to allow for the next
stage.
Lower the quill to lap once again and cut a little. How much further to go! A little more, OK!
Cut a little more. Remember you may be cutting past the stop so just watch that all is well
here. Are all the points going to meet true? You should be well aware as you get closer to
the meets. If not use the cheaters as per page 74. They must all meet simultaneously. You
may cut very close to the meets with the pre-polish lap as the polish lap will remove very
little of material on such a large facet.
When you have finished the table the stars will be equal-lateral triangles with all the points
touching the next facet alongside it.
Raise Quill by angle cheater
To cut further into index 96
96
Points are not going
To meet properly. Use
The angle cheater to
Increase the height
and reset
24
1s’t Cut
Of Table
Facet
Table Not
Cutting Square
48
ALL CUTS MUST MEET SIMUTANEOUSLY
Table Cut to Meets
Stars 24º
CROWN
TABLE FACET
All Points Meet
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 47
POLISHING THE TABLE - This facet may take a little longer to polish because of its large size
Set up the polish lap and clean the machine and gem stone. Clean the polish lap and give it a
recharge as per chapter 4.
Lower the stone and wipe across the lap and check progress of the polish. Don’t forget to
release the stop when polishing. Use the index cheater and micro height adjuster to adjust
facet to the surface to polish evenly.
OK! Here comes that scenario I mentioned earlier. The facet does not seemed to be polishing. The facet seems to be flaking with slight ripple effect. This is due to polishing on the
cleavage ( not the girly type). To make the polishing work we are going to hand polish.
Turn the machine off so the lap is not spinning. Wipe the gem stone across the surface of
the lap by hand. Check the progress, and you will see a remarkable polish. Keep at it, and
your done. It’s quite easy and you will acquire your own technique that suits you.
WELL DONE !!!!
Take the stone/dop stick out of the quill and heat the end near the gem stone so you can
pry it out. Clean thoroughly with meths and tissue.
Admire the gems beauty of your first cut stone
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 48
COMMON FACETING
MINERAL
Apatite
MOHS
HARD
REFRACTIVE
INDEX
Critical
Angle°
PAVILION
Angle°
CROWN
Angle°
M
G
M
G
S
5.00
1.63
37
42
44
39
44
24
7.5-8.0
1.56
39
43
45
42
47
27
Chrysoberyl
8.50
1.74
34.5
42
44
39
44
24
Corundum [Sapphire]
[Synthetic]
9.00
9.00
1.76
1.76
34
34
42
40
44
42
38
38
43
43
23
23
Cubic Zirconia
8.00
2.16
27.4
41
43
35
40
20
5.0/7.0
1.56/1.57
41
43
45
42
47
27
4.00
1.43
44
45
47
43
48
28
Garnet (almandine)
6.0/7.5
1.76/1.83
33.5
41
43
38
43
23
Garnet (Rhodolite - Violet Red)
7.0/7.5
1.75/1.76
31.5
39
41
35
40
20
Garnet (grossular)
6.5/7.0
1.742/1.748
35.5
41
43
38
43
23
7.25
1.74/1.75
35
41
43
38
43
23
Moldavite (Obsidian-Glass)
Glass & Pastes
5.5/6.0
5.0/6.0
1.45/1.52
1.45 +
41
40
43
43
45
45
42
41
37
36
27
26
Iolite
7.0/7.5
1.53/1.54
40.4
43
45
42
47
27
5.00
1.61
38
41
43
39
42
24
Opal
5.0/6.5
1.44/1.47
43
45
47
41
46
26
Peridot
6.5/7.0
1.65/1.69
37
42
44
39
44
24
Quartz
7.00
1.54/1.553
40
42
44
41
46
26
Spinel
8.00
1.71/1.736
35
41
43
40
45
25
6.5/7.0
1.66
37
41
43
39
44
24
Strontium titanate
6.00
2.41
24.5
41
43
35
40
24
Topaz
8.00
1.61/1.62
37
41
43
39
44
24
7.0/7.5
1.63/1.65
38
42
44
39
44
24
8.50
1.83
33
40
42
37
42
22
6.5/7.5
1.99
31
41
43
35
40
20
Beryl (Aquamarine & Morganite)
Feldspars
Fluorite
Garnet (pyrope - Red)
Lazulite
Spodumene
Tourmaline
Yitrium aluminium garnet (YAG)
Zircon (high)
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 49
HAND CRANKED TEMPLATE FACETING MACHINE
FROM YESTERYEAR
THE CAMPER SERIES FACETING MACHINE
Designed for travelling and space.
Started from bits and pieces from the shed, 12Volt DC
3.3A and just under 5 Kilo in Weight.
THINGS YOU CAN MAKE FROM SCRAP IN THE SHED
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 50
Angles are for Quartz - Proportion of gem
stone best 1.5 to 1 ratio
EMERALD CUT
96
84
12
2
6
4
5
3
72
36
60
PAVILION
(1) Angle 90° Index - 96,48,24,72
(2) Angle 63º Index - 96,48,24,72
(3) Angle 43° Index - 96,48,24,72
(4) Angle 53° Index - 96,48,24,72
24 (5) Angle 53° Index - 12,36,60,84
(6) Angle 63° Index - 12,36,60,84
(7) Angle 90° Index - 12,36,60,84
Cut mid way facets and corner facets with
1200 lap and polish reverse order
48
Pavilion
Star 27º
Mains
42º
55º
Girdle
CROWN
(1) Angle 55° Girdle
Index - 96,48, 24,72,12,36,60,84
Cut these facets to establish girdle 5%
(2) Angle 42° Mains
Index - 96,48,24,72,12,36,60,84
(3) Angle 27° Stars
Index - 96,48,24,72,12,36,60,84
Polish in reverse order
Girdle
63º
Mid Mains
53º
43º
1
2
3
Crown
4
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Mains
(4) Table - use 45° angle dop and set up parallel with lap surface. Set angle to 90°, cut
and polish
The emerald cut is basically designed for medium to dark coloured stones, or stones with a low
refractive index. The depth of the gem stone will
enhance lighter coloured stones, but does nothing for scintillation or brilliance.
The only problem that you may encounter with
cutting the Emerald Cut, is that you may find that
you will have to use the index cheater often, as
small amounts of pressure one side or the other
of the stone will cause slight over or undercutting of facets causing un parallel facets. Adjust
to get all meets so that the lines are parallel.
By following the above cutting sequences, you
should encounter no real problems. Corner facets are cut last and are determined by the angles
work out for you. Centre main facets should be
cut with the 1200 pre-polish lap if the stones are
under 10mm or use the coarse for larger stones.
Page 51
SPIDERED HEART - Step Cut 79 Facets 96 Index
96
85
11
1
75
21
Angles are for Quartz:
PAVILION
63° index as marked
53° index as marked
43° index as marked
2
3
69
27
(1)
(2)
(3)
32
64
59
Polish in reverse order
37
53
43
3
Star
2
Mains
1
Girdle
1
Girdle
2
Mid Main
3
Main Culet
This type of step cut can be
used for just about all shapes
and sizes. Particularly suited to
medium to dark stones, especially garnets.
96
85
11
75
21
Cutting Order
1-2-3
Polish in Reverse
Order
69
2
27
3
32
64
59
1
53
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
37
(1)
(2)
(3)
Angles are for Quartz:
CROWN
52° index as marked
42° index as marked
27° index as marked
Polish in reverse order
Cut and polish table last using 45°
Angle dop
43
Page 52
‘OLLEN’ cut - Designed by Trevor Hannam
PAVILION
(1) 55° 96-12-24-36-48-60-72-84
(2) 50° 01-13-25-37-49-61-73-85
(3) 48° 01-13-25-37-49-61-73-85
(4) 44° 96-12-24-36-48-60-72-84
(5) 40° 06-18-30-42-54-66-78-90
A TWIST WITH A DIFFERENCE
Angles shown are for topaz - R.I. Stones of 1.6 to 1.7.
The cut produces some interesting patterns with scintillation, and does appear to suit
coloured stones. Square the stone (rounding), indexing 96-12-24 etc. Follow the sequences shown, and there should be no trouble.
*NOTE - Table is cut last
CROWN
(1) 60° 96-12-24-36-48-60-72-84
(2) 50° 95-11-23-35-47-59-71-83
(3) 45° 95-11-23-35-47-59-71-83
(4) 35° 96-12-24-36-48-60-72-84
(5) 28° 06-18-30-42-54-66-78-90
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 53
CHAMPAGNE GLASS - Designed by Trevor Hannam
This design can be rounded or cut direct from rough material with no pre-form. Angles will
suit all gems as brilliance is not the object here. Cairngorm or slight smoky quartz gives a
very realistic finish to the glass - You’ll be amazed how easy it is. Indexes can be altered to
produce diamond shape facets instead of the rectangular type facets.
CROWN
Step 1
75° Indexes 96-06-12-18-24-30-36-42-48-54-60-66-72-78-84 and 90
Step 2
40° Indexes 96-06-12-18-24-30-36-42-48-54-60-66-72-78-84 and 90
Step 3
Polish in reverse order
Step 4
Cut Table on the 45° angle dop to approximately 70-90% - 85% is good
Step 5
Polish Table and then transfer - Use a medium size dop stick and put aside.
STEM
A piece of quartz crystal is best used as it is basically round and long. Determine the length
required by measuring the width, and using 60% of the width for the length.
The champagne stem is tapered (large end on the dop stick). Round the stem with 15% of
the total crown diameter
Step 1
86° Indexing 96-06-12-18-24-30-36-42-48-54-60-66-72-78-84 and 90
Step 2
Polish
Step 3
Cut the tapered stem flat with 1200 pre-polish, using the 45° angle dop. This will
accommodate the base (bottom bit) of the glass.
Step 4
Transfer to a cone dop stick and put aside.
The stem is a bit tricky due to its length and small diameter - Polish carefully
PAVILION - (BOWL)
Step 1
75° Indexing 90-06-12-18-24-30-36-42-48-54-60-66-72-78-84 and 90
Step 2
50° Indexing 90-06-12-18-24-30-36-42-48-54-60-66-72-78-84 and 90
Step 3
35° Indexing 90-06-12-18-24-30-36-42-48-54-60-66-72-78-84 and 90
Step 4
20° Indexing 90-06-12-18-24-30-36-42-48-54-60-66-72-78-84 and 90
Step 5
10° Indexing 90-06-12-18-24-30-36-42-48-54-60-66-72-78-84 and 90
All Facets should come to a point
Step 6
Using the 45° angle dop, cut a small flat facet with the 1200 pre-polish lap to
match the width of the stem. This is the largets part of the stem (15%).
Step 7
Place glass and stem dops in the transfer jig, align and using 24 hour araldite or
Loctite UV cement (requires UV light to set), push together and leave aside for 24 hrs. With
The UV cement, leave in the sunlight for 30 minutes to set.
Step 8
Remove fixture from the transfer jig and take the dopstick off the end of the
stem only.
Step 9
Using the 45° angle dop, cut a flat surface with the 1200 pre-polish lap
BASE
Step 1
Round a stone to approximately 50% of total width using coarse lap only.
Step 2
Using 45° angle dop, cut a flat table, polish and transfer
Step 3
45° Indexing 90-06-12-18-24-30-36-42-48-54-60-66-72-78-84 and 90. Cut this
down so the diameter is approximately 45% of total crown width
Step 4
20° Indexing 90-06-12-18-24-30-36-42-48-54-60-66-72-78-84 and 90.
All Facets should come to a point
Step 5 Using 45° angle dop, cut a flat on the 1200 pre-polish lap to match narrow width on
the stem. Using the transfer jig, place glass and stem together, and align. Cement as above
and remove from jig when set. Clean up with meths and tissue.
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 54
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 55
15:6 KAYTRE CUT
Designed by Trevor Hannam
Angles are for quartz
113 facets - 96 index wheel
PAVILION
(1)
54° Indexing:
96-6,12-18,24-30,36-42,48-54,60-66,72-78,84-90
(2)
90° Indexing:
Use the same index as No 1
(3)
47° Indexing:
Use the same index as No 1
(4)
42° Indexing:
3-9,15-21,27-33,39-45,51-57,63-69,75-81,87-93
CROWN:
(1)
47° Indexing:
96-12-24-36-48-60-72-84
(2)
44° Indexing:
3-9,15-21,27-33,39-45,51-57,63-69,75-81,87-93.
(3)
39° Indexing:
96-12-24-36-48-60-72-84
(4)
34° Indexing:
96-12-24-36-48-60-72-84
(5)
24° Indexing:
96-12-24-36-48-60-72-84
(6)
Table done last Use 45° angle dop, cut and
polish
Polish In Reverse Order
You may notice that the facets (39°)
on the girdle, Index 3-9,15-21, etc
Are slightly raised, leaving a slight
uneven girdle.
If this proves a problem, cut a small
triangular
facet
on
indexes
6,18,30,42,54,66,78,90.
Cut to even girdle and to meet with
No. 3/4 Apex
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 56
KAYTRE 5 - Designed by Trevor Hannam
105 facets use 96 Index Wheel
Angles are for quartz
PAVILION:
(1) 49° Indexing: 3-9,15-21,27-33,39-45,51-57,63-69,75-81,87-93
(2) 90° Index as above to form the girdle
(3) 43° - Index 96,6,12,18,24,30,36,42,48,54,60,66,72,78,84,90
CROWN:
(1) 46° - Index 3,9,15,21,27,33,39,45,51,57,63,69,75,81,87,93
(2) 42° - Index 96,6,12,18,24,30,36,42,48,54,60,66,72,78,84,90
(3) 36° - Index 3,9,15,21,27,33,39,45,51,57,63,69,75,81,87,93
(4) 26° - Index 96,12,24,36,48,60,72,84
(5) Table using 45° angle dop - Cut and polish
POLISH IN REVERSE ORDER
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 57
REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hardy
“THE JEWELRY REPAIR MANUAL” by R. Allen Hardy
Second Edition 1986
MDR
“The Book of Gem Cuts” Volume 1, 2 and 3. By M.D.R. Manufacturing Co.,
Inc. 3517 Schaefer St., Culver City, California 90230 - 1971
Simon/Schuster “GEMS and PRECIOUS STONES” by Simon & Schuster’s
Edited by Kennie Lyman
Schumann
“GEMSTONES of the world” by Walter Schumann - 1984
Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., New York 10016, and N.A.G. Press, Ipswich
Suffolk 1977
Sinkankas
“Gem Cutting - A Lapidary’s Manual” 1962 by J. Sinkankas
Talent
“Guide to AUSTRALIAN MINERALS” by John A. Talent – 1970
Vargas
Diagrams for Faceting Volume 1 - Glenn & Martha Vargas
Vargas
Diagrams for Faceting Volume 2 - Glenn & Martha Vargas
Vargas
Diagrams for Faceting Volume 3 - Glenn & Martha Vargas
Vargas
Description of Gem materials (third addition) - Glenn & Martha Vargas
Vargas
Faceting for Amateurs (second edition, revised) - Glenn & Martha Vargas
Webster
“The GEMMOLOGISTS’ COMPENDIUM” by Robert Webster, F.G.A.
Fifth Edition 1975
Wykoff
“Beyond the Glitter” 1982 by Gerald L. Wykoff, G.G. CSM PhD
Wycoff
“Making and Using the Calibrated Jamb Peg” 2004 by Gerald L. Wykoff,
G.G. CSM PhD
Wykoff
“The Techniques of MASTER FACETING” by Gerald L. Wykoff, G.G.
1985 - Adamas Publishers, P.O. Box 5504, Washington D.C. 20016
© Copyright 2000
Trevor G. Hannam
Page 58